Eight Somalian nationals, who were arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly hijacking a merchant vessel and claimed to be minors before the holiday court on Sunday, are above 18 years of age. This was revealed in their ossification tests, said the police Wednesday. The Yellow Gate police, that is probing the case, produced them before the court and the eight accused were remanded in police custody till April 2. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Latkar (Port zone) said, “After their claims of being minors, ossification tests were conducted and as the reports confirmed that they were above 18 years, they were taken in custody again and produced before court.” An ossification test is an age determination test which is based on the assessment of the bone framework. The tests revealed that two of the eight accused are 21-year-old while the rest are aged between 19 and 20, said police. The Mumbai Police had Saturday arrested 35 Somalian nationals who were nabbed by the Indian Navy on March 16 during its anti-piracy operation. They have been booked under relevant sections of kidnapping, extortion and illegal assembly under the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Maritime Anti-Piracy Act and Arms Act. The police officials added that the 35 pirates had taken over MV Ruen at about 260 nautical miles east of Somalia following which they abducted the crew members and demanded 60 million US dollars from the owner of the ship. They further threatened to kill the crew members if the owner failed to pay the ransom. However after an operation that lasted for over 40 hours, the Indian Navy managed to take the pirates under their custody while the 17 crew members were also rescued without any injury. After the 35 Somalian nationals were handed over to the police on Saturday, they were produced before court on Sunday, when eight of them claimed that they were minors. “While the 26 others were remanded in police custody till April 2, the court had directed us to produce the eight accused before Juvenile Justice Board (JJB)," said an officer. Subsequently, the investigators said that the eight accused underwent the ossification test which revealed that they were above 18 years after which their police custody was sought. “We are trying to determine the exact roles of each accused in the crime and also since when they have been doing it and how many ships have they targeted in the past,” an officer said.
